Graduation: The First Years
by Parodys
Summary: Jubilee and Logan's daughter returns from out of the blue. Chapter five is new and up!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in regards to the Marvel characters. The belong to (big surprise) Marvel. 

A/N: This is a sequel to Graduation: The Beginning…hope you like it. This should stand on it's own but it probably helps if you read it. And just for the record, Deanna has slight telepathic abilities.

Disclaimer: I own nothing save the story idea….everything else belongs to Marvel

A/N This is a sequel to Graduation: The beginning, it helps if you read it. Um…read and review please…it really makes a difference (and feeds the addiction!) Thanks to Jane and Ambrosia for all their help…especially Jane who gave me the idea for Deanna and her future.

The First Years

Dena giggled. The curly black-haired girl peeked over her playpen, her bright blue eyes searching for anyone that might happen to walk by. Dena, commonly known as Deanna, had quickly discovered that if she leaned over on the stretchy fence that enclosed her play area then she could easily roll over and out of the enclosure. She hadn't had many chances to use it since she had been constantly monitored by one of her many aunts and uncles, being the first baby in the house meant that she had a lot of presents at Christmas, but it also meant that there weren't many chances for mischief. Today, however, her mother had made the mistake of deciding to take a quick shower while Dena played in the pen. 

*thump* Two little six-month-old feet landed solidly on the carpet, that were quickly joined by two small hands and a wiggling diapered bottom that quickly moved out the room and down the hall. The sole reason for this excursion was the fact that from the time she was able to crawl, the dark oak stairs held a special fascination for her. There was something about the smooth wood, and her mother's terrified shrieks every time she tried to go down the polished steps that made her want to master the huge beast. 

Looking around for a second, Dena looked over the edge of the first step with satisfaction. Not even slightly afraid of the height, she determinedly flipped over on her stomach and started the laborious project of backing down the stairs. 

From a vantage point at the head of the stairs Jubilee bit her lip as she watched her baby. Her eyes flickered nervously as she glanced at Angelo at the foot of the stairs. *You'll catch her right?*

*No problema, Jubecita. I'm not going to let her fall, first sign she slips I grab her.*

*Thanks.*

Several minutes later, Dena felt her feet hit the floor with a satisfying thud. Glancing around, she found her self alone, and smiling she looked up at the huge face of the staircase. Deciding she wanted some approval she looked up. *Momma?*

Ten seconds later, Jubilee appeared, paled at the sight of her child and thundered down the stairs, her eyes bright. Jubilee bit back a grin as she looked in to the face of her grinning child and sighed. "You, little miss, I believe were told not to leave the pen? Next time you want an adventure like that just tell Momma okay. That way we both live longer."

Dena giggled and gave her a hug, the childish hands patting Jubilee's cheeks. "S'okay."

Jubilee proceeded out the door to the backyard where she was meeting Paige for lunch, Dena carefully tucked away in her arms. 

-in-

Later that night

"She did what?" Logan grinned at the sleeping child, nestled in his arms.

Jubilee nodded. " I knew she had been distracted that morning, and I kept on getting images of a big brown monster that needed to be beaten. By the time that I figured what _that_ was, I had just walked out the room to take a shower. So I stayed and watched." She brushed a stray curl from Dena's peaceful face. "Did you know that the stinker knows how to get out of the pen? I figured it was something she needed to do, made sure she was safe with Ange at the bottom, and spent the most heart wrenching ten minutes of my life watching her go down those stairs."

Gently kissing Dena's cheek, Logan tucked his daughter into her crib. "That's our girl." Grinning, he turned to Jubilee and pulled her close. "So whatever happened to that shower?"

"Forgotten in the midst of panic."

"How about we go take that shower now?" Logan nuzzled her neck invitingly. "I'll scrub you if you scrub me…"

"Sounds good…"

The two walked out of the room, their hands entwined. Blinking sleepily, Dena looked at the retreating figures of her parents and went back to sleep with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

-in-

"Happy Birthday Squidge!" Bobby grinned at the elaborately dressed up girl, and handed her a present. "One year old today."

Dena nodded, as Jubilee rolled her eyes at the nickname. The little girl had been dressed in a frilly pink dress that Jubilee still wouldn't admit to buying, saying that it had ended up in the shopping cart as a mistake and she didn't feel like putting it back. Her hair had been pulled into pigtails tied up with little white bows, and in essence looked "Disgustingly cute" as described by her uncle Bobby.

"Tank you." Dena took the brightly wrapped gift in her chubby hands and toddled over the huge pile of presents growing in the corner of the living room in the mansion. 

Bobby gave Jubilee a hug. "She's so great Jubes. You've done a great job with her, you too Logan." He nodded in Logan's direction who was trying to string up a piñata. Logan grunted, then returned to his task. Hank, Scott, Angelo and Logan had been trying to hang the papier-mâché doll for over an hour without any luck, and were on the verge of super gluing the whole thing to the ceiling. 

"Listen up ese, all we need to do is just tie it up to the hook up there."

"We tired that already, remember?" Scott pointed to a crumbling patch of ceiling where a large chunk had come loose.

"Perhaps if we managed to contrive some sort of pulley and…"

"What the hell is in this thing anyway? It must weigh fifty pounds. Who filled this?" Angelo hefted the paper donkey experimentally.

Scott blushed slightly. "Well you told me to put candy and toys in it."

"What kind of candy and toys?"

"Um lessee, Tootsie rolls, hard candy, little candy bars, skittles, those cute furby things, yo-yo's, some CD's, play-doe, gold candy…" he trailed off at the looks of the other men's faces. "What?"

Beast patted him on the shoulder. "I believe the more common items in a piñata are more…cheap and light weight. Plastic jewelry, toy necklaces, a large assortment of candy."

Logan tossed down the hammer he was holding in exasperation. "I nominated Cyke here to hold it while everyone takes a swing at it."

Chuckling, Jubilee looked around the room in satisfaction. Brightly colored streamers were hung around the room, Rogue was in the process of blowing up the balloons with a helium tank and the rainbow ball of rubber were floating around the room, in the corner of the room there was a huge pile of presents, and last but not least the professor had put up sparkling lights so that the room was a picture of light, warmth and friendliness. 

"Hello all!" The front door opened to reveal Emma bearing several packages. Behind her Sean was carefully balancing several bottles of soda pop and a large gorilla.

"Hi, Emma." Hugging her after she had deposited the gifts, Jubilee raised an eyebrow at the boxes. "Emma, I told you that …"

Before she could finish, Emma placed a finger on her lips. "Don't yell, these are from Jono, Monet, and Penance believe it or not."

"Penny?"

"Yeah, she stopped by my office one day bearing a slightly tattered catalogue and kept on pointing to one item. So I ordered it, and she made it very clear that it was for your baby. She's gotten a lot better. In fact we brought her today, I think she's out in the trees somewhere getting used to the place." Emma nodded over her shoulder to the large oak in the front yard.

Pausing a moment to give Sean a quick kiss, Jubilee walked out into the sunny day to the huge tree. Squinting, she peered up into the branches looking for a hint of red. "Penny?" Some leaves rustled, and Jubilee turned to find Penance standing beside her. "How are you?"

Penance blinked slowly, her face breaking into a smile as she handed Jubilee a bright red apple. *Good see you.*

Carefully taking the apple, Jubilee stared at her in shock. *Good to talk to you Penny. Thank you for the apple. How are you?*

*Happy/good. Baby?*

Jubilee nodded. *Yes, I have a baby now. Would you like to meet her?*

Penance nodded, and followed Jubilee back into the mansion. The little diva of the day, as Bobby was calling her, was deep in a serious discussion with Emma over who was the best Powerpuff girl. 

*Dena?* The little girl looked inquiringly at her mother who motioned for her to come. Running obediently into her arms, Dena grinned at the new guest. *Sweetie, this Penny an old friend of Momma's."

Penny smiled at Dena who grinned in return. *Baby!*

Giggling, Dena squirmed out of her mother's arms and before anyone could do anything, had flung herself into Penny's arms. 

"Dena!" Jubilee paled as Penny stood motionless, unwilling to move incase she hurt the child. The room became dead silent as everyone watched the laughing child hug the deadly mutant. Penance's skin had the fatal ability to maintain sharpness, a power that had forced her to keep everyone at arms length since she first came to Generation X. 

*Baby?!?* Emma could hear Penny's confusion as Dena clambered over her, her skin softening under the child's touch, her claws forming into hands and her hair, once spikes that could slice through steel, turning into flowing strands of red hair. 

"Come to Daddy." Logan said softly, picking up Dena. Exchanging glances with Jubilee, Logan took Dena over to the construction that had been erected for the piñata. 

*Baby, okay?* Penny's blue eyes were wide with fright, her hands trembling slightly as they morphed back into her original form.

"Dena is okay. Are you?" Concerned Jubilee reached out touch Penny, her finger getting sliced open on contact. Ignoring everyone's protest, Jubilee just sucked on her finger gazing thoughtfully at the mutant. In the background she could hear Logan calling everyone in for cake, glancing down at Penny she smiled. "Don't worry Penny, it'll be okay."

-in-

"Fascinating." Beast swirled the contents of the test-tube thoughtfully, gazing into it's dark red contents.

Penny shifted uncomfortably on the hospital bed, tearing the sheets as she moved slightly. Sitting in a chair next to the bed, Jubilee held Dena in her lap with Logan standing behind them. 

"So what's the deal Hank?"

"Well Penance's mutation has always seemed be based on self-protection, which is a viable hypothesis considering her prolonged exposure and abuse with Emplate. It would seem that our Penance has finally allowed herself to trust someone enough to let down her defenses so to speak."

"But when I tried to touch her I got cut." Jubilee held out her bandaged finger.

"Yes…well." Beast frowned peering at the mutant in question over tented fingers. "No-one knows the true morphology of Penance or whether or not she was human to start with, but I feel that Penance has shown her intentions with Deanna. To be honest Jubilation the very fact that Deanna was able to circumvent Penance's deadly ability is beyond lucky. But I also believe that once Deanna was able to pass these defenses then she can do so again and again. Go ahead and try it, do you mind?"

Jubilee winced, her arms unconsciously tightening around her daughter. "And if you're wrong?" 

"I don't believe that I am, but if I am then we can extract her within seconds."

*Logan?* Turning to her husband, Jubilee looked up at him her face expressionless.

*She's our girl, Darlin. If anyone can do it, she can.* 

Nodding, Jubilee let Dena clamber out of her arms into Penny's shaking arms. This time the change was almost instantaneous, the softening of the skin, the formation of the hands and Penny gently touched Dena's face. Giggling with delight, Dena flung her arms around Penny her chubby arms hugging the mutant for the first time in years. *Penny!*

-in-

Two years later

Light broke over the forest, streams of light hitting the balcony and it's occupant. Jubilee breathed in deeply, sinking even farther into her meditation setting up the shields she would need for the day. It had become habit much to her surprise, centering her personality far more than anything else could have. A small smile crossed her lips as a cool breeze lifted and played with her now long hair. As the breeze left, Jubilee returned to her previous state, calmly preparing for the day.

In the next room, Dena blinked sleepily and rolled out of her new grown-up bed and padded softly into her parent's bedroom and out onto the balcony where her mother was sitting. Yawning, her small mouth opening wide, Dena sat down in the lotus position next to her, mimicking the woman's breathing. Ten minutes later the little girl began to squirm slightly and flopping down on her stomach, she pulled out some crayons and paper put there for just such an occasion. Brightly colored drawings formed under the industrious hands and several sheets had been used when Jubilee brought herself back to reality. 

Jubilee looked at the drawings with interest. "Morning sweetie, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Cats. Cute kitty cats. Nice cats." Dena blinked artfully at her mother, sending an image of a kitten batting at a ball of yarn.

"Cats huh? Any in particular?"

Dena nodded emphatically, pointing to a scrawl on one of the pages. "Black kitty."

"What would we call him?"

"_Her_. Ace cause that's the best card to have. 'S lucky."

Jubilee's eyes narrowed. "Has Uncle Remy been teaching you poker again?"

"Read em an weep." Dena giggled and climbed into her mother's lap. "I won ten bucks off him."

"Oh really? What did you have?" Jubilee asked curiously, making a mental note to have a little talk with Remy about his teaching sessions. Remy only guarded the president part-time now, having built a loyal team that both he and Jubilee trusted implicitly. With the free time, he often peeked in to see how Jubilee and the rest of the X-men were doing. 

"Four in a row." Dena wiggled as Jubilee deftly braided her hair into two braids that just brushed her shoulders. The once curly hair had straightened, much to the chagrin of all of the women in the house. 

"A four of a kind? What card?"

"Ace."

"Good job girl!" Logan wrapped his arms around the two women in his life, tickling them with the stubble on his chin. "We got training in a few minutes, we should go."

Jubilee nodded and kissed Dena's cheek. "Alright, be good." 

"'Kay."

"And no more adventures into the pond okay?"

""Kay."

Grinning at the memory of Dena tying to find out where the fish lived in the pond, the three of the them walked downstairs to where most of the team was waiting. Giving Dena one last kiss Logan and Jubilee jogged off to the Danger Room leaving her in the kitchen. 

*Baby/Dena, good?*

Dena looked up at her babysitter, a job title that Penny had assumed two years ago when they had discovered that Dena was impervious to Penny's mutation. "Good. Play now?"

Penny grinned and took the little girl's hand. *Play.*

-fin-


	2. Brushes with death

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in regards to the Marvel characters. The belong to (big surprise) Marvel. 

A/N: This is a sequel to Graduation: The Beginning…hope you like it. This should stand on it's own but it probably helps if you read it. And just for the record, Deanna has slight telepathic abilities.

Chapter 2

The rundown motel room was dark, the curtains had been tightly drawn against the dusky haze of the evening. Windows rattled every time a truck roared by making the floor tremble under the person's feet. A lone figure watched the flickering screen of the television where the president was just announced as having won the election for yet another term, their thin form sunken into the battered arm chair with faded blue roses peeling on the side.

"Paah!" The a gob of spit landed on the brown carpeting in disgust. A black boot ground the saliva into the tread, as the figure paced around the room. Despite all of the ads against Pearson, the damn woman had managed to win again. The lithe figure angrily kicked a stray towel out of the way, sending the filthy cloth across the room to land on the heater. 

"Together we can make our future!" Pearson excited announced from the screen. Without turning to look at the woman's jubilant face, a foot lashed out and television exploded in a shower of glass, smoke and sparks. Crouching down in the floor, a hand picked up a hot shard of glass and squeezed it, letting the blood drip from the clenched hand. The sting quickly blossomed to a dull throb, pain would only serve to fuel the mission.

A smile slowly crossed Alias' face, if one way didn't work then come hell or high water, the next plan would. With sure fingers, she pulled out some worn photographs from her coat pocket. It had been over four years ago, on a routine robbery when she had come across The Book. Alias had spent over fifteen minutes cracking open the safe to find a tattered old leather bound book, and was going to throw it out when curiosity had overtaken. Three pages into it had revealed Alias and the role that would come in the future. The role that would fufill the dream of a mutant free world, save for one child. 

So, Alias had waited, scrounged in the cover of darkness like a rat, constantly switching names, identities, waiting for the day when the child would be seen, the key to everything. And then just a week ago, Alias had been in a small town of Salem, eating lunch at a local café, when the child had walked by. Time had stood still as the laughing child whispered something to her mother. In that instant Alias knew that for the plan to succeed, the child must die.

-in-

The strains of Lord of the Dance filtered through the sound of the shower as Sean enthusiastically sang along. Emma smiled at a particularly off key note, and got up from her position on the bed to pull a leather bound book from a hidden spot underneath their window seat. Two years ago, she and Sean had finally married into a blissfully happy life. They had moved into a mansion about an hour away from Xavier, both wanting to be far enough for space and still near enough to stay in touch with their former students.

Shutting the seat with a click, Emma settled down into the soft seat and opened the book. She had discovered it's presence about five years ago and since had spent time trying to decode the mass of images and writings. One thing had been blatantly clear though…

"Em? Can ye get me a towel?" Sean called from the foggy depths of the bathroom.

Emma smiled. "Sure thing, be right there." Tracing the first picture with a manicured finger, she deftly shut the book and tucked it back in it's hiding place. Picking up a towel from the closet she went to the bathroom when a hand whipped out and grabbed her. Laughing, the book was quickly forgotten for the moment and the detailed drawing of a blue-eyed, black haired toddler on the first page.

-in-

"Now?"

"Almost."

A second managed to tick by before- "Now?" 

"Soon now."

A minute dragged by- "Now??"

Jubilee looked down at the toddler who was hanging from her hand, skipping ahead, tugging at her mother's annoyingly slow pace. "Deanna." A simple warning and a raised eyebrow was enough to calm Dena to the point where she slowed down enough to walk beside her. Jubilee rubbed her forehead, she had the makings of a killer migraine and pain was already beginning to spike behind her eyes. Closing her eyes for a moment, she switched off the pain receptors so that she only felt the occasional twinge, grateful that she had a quick fix. While she dearly loved her daughter, she was something if not persistent.

Dena's fourth birthday had been two days ago, an important date according to Jubilee and Logan who told her that she was old enough to start training. Two very long days later Jubilee had finally made time to head down the Danger Room and set up a beginner program that involved gymnastic equipment. Logan had been unexpectedly called away to provide back-up for the team as they investigated some riots that had broken out in South America, leaving Jubilee alone with Dena for this little adventure. Which was why Penance was with them now. After four years of raising Deanna, Jubilee had no illusions about what kind of trouble she could manage to get into. Just last week the little girl had managed to climb out on to the roof to try and fly when Storm had spotted her as she jumped off. Instead of scolding the child, Ororo had flown Dena around the yard before setting her down on the lawn. Jubilee sighed, as they entered the Danger Room. That little adventure had firmly addicted Dena to flying and she was waiting for the next attempt with resignation.

*What you have planned?* Penny asked as they walked out onto the floor. The past year with Dena had done the mutant wonders, the formerly mute woman was now almost fully articulate and she had enough control over her powers to the point where others could touch her without being hurt. She and Jubilee had become extremely close, since both had a flair for shopping, something that had emerged in Penance when she stopped having to wear steel reinforced outfits.

"I thought that we'd try her out on the balance beam, a little meditation and some basic moves..." Jubilee trailed off at the skepticism that was dripping off Penny. "What?"

*Baby good but not that good."

"The key is repetition, not learning cold the first time. Besides wait till you see who I programmed as the baddie." Jubilee grinned and let Dena run off to explore the empty room. "Computer run training program Deanna 1."

The room shimmered as the landscape was created around them. The converted into a dojo that had a gymnastics set-up with a balancing beam and floor mat (Jubilee had initially programmed a full set until she took one glance at the uneven bars and remembered who she was dealing with. She was not ready to deal with a broken bone or worse just yet). 

"Dena, come here." 

"Yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep!!!" Dena giggled hysterically in her excitement and launched herself into Jubilee's arms. 

"Well I guess you're ready. Let's start. First before anything we stretch out so that we don't hurt any of our muscles." Jubilee led Dena to the floor mat, where Penny was standing. "Computer play warm up music." The soft strains of Vivaldi washed over the trio, as they slowly worked their bodies, Dena's chubby arms and legs clumsily mimicking her mother's movements. 

After a few minutes, Jubilee switched off the music and helped Dena up. "Good girl."

An expression of suffering crossed the little girl's face. "Do we haveta do this? It's bo-ring."

"Yeah, anything worth doing is worth doing right." She automatically replied, the words out of her mouth before she realized what she said. Jubilee groaned, burying her head in her hands. "Dear God, I've become Cyke. 22 years old and I've already lost it. Joy." 

Dena tugged at her mother's sleeve in concern. "Momma?"

Sighing, Jubilee forced a smile. "Just realizing that my childhood may have been more traumatic than I first thought." 

Penny chuckled. *Ready to start self-defense?*

"Sure. Computer, set up opponent Bad Blue difficultly level of 0.5 safeties on." The room shimmered again as the opponent materialized in front of them. Penny and Jubilee exchanged a grin, as Barney clapped his hands together. This was going to be fun.

Half an hour later Barney lay motionless on the floor, Jubilee was exhausted, Penance was ready to collapse and Deanna was bouncing up and down in her excitement. "What now? More please?" Fragments of sentences were escaping from her lips in excited bursts, as she tugged on both of their hands. 

Laughing tiredly Jubilee shook her head. "Sorry babe, Momma is worn out. Kaput. Finished. But I do have a surprise for you. Computer run TR1." The room shifted once again to reveal a padded room, with a harness hanged from the ceiling. "This is so you can have all the fun of flying, without shooting off into space." Jubilee carefully tied Dena into the harness, and once she was sure that everything was secure, let go.

Dena's scream of delight bounced off the walls as the little girl twirled and flipped in the air, suspended by the two cords. Penny looked at Jubilee curiously. *Where did you get idea?*

Jubilee grinned as she watched Dena swing around the room. "Remember when we went to see Tomb Raider last week? I actually built this for me and modified it for Dena after the whole flying fiasco. This has got the be the best idea I ever had."

-in-

Hunched over a laptop, Alias quickly went online with the ease of years of practice. Over the past few years and the resulting peace that had blossomed from Pearson's presidency, security at the mansion, while not forgone completely had been getting lax. It was this breach that made it easy for Alias to circumvent the passwords and security that protected the mansion's system. Within minutes the entire computer data base was accessed. 

Alias grinned as the files were quickly downloaded into a zip disk. Tonight was good, and now it was going to get better. 

-in-

Penny and Jubilee watched the happily swinging girl from two lounge chairs that Jubilee had called up. One of the new features Forge had installed was a fantastic sound system that was able to log onto any radio station in the world as well retain memories of people's play lists. Which was why Aerosmith was blasting from the walls, making the walls shake slightly with each beat. It was also why both Jubilee and Penny didn't see the harness snap.

Jubilee looked up in alarm as Dena's scream had changed from glee to terror, as she sailed through the air heading towards the far wall. Without pausing to think she sprinted towards her child, knowing that no matter how fast she ran it would be too late. Desperation fueling her movements Jubilee made a mad dive for the child before she hit the wall, and was only able to catch her after the small child had hit the wall with a sickening thud and fell into her mother's arms. 

Fear threatened to choke Jubilee as she caught Dena, her legs almost collapsing from the strain of the impact. The bundle in her arms was motionless and with Penny keeping her up, the two ran to the Medical Lab where Hank was already waiting having been informed by Penny of the situation. 

The large man tenderly took the small child from Jubilee's arms and laid her on the examining table, the child's body limp. Frowning, Hank check her vitals and softly probed her arms and legs for any broken bones. He had x-rays taken and just to be sure, blood stats run to make sure that there wasn't any internal damage. Half an hour later Hank turned to Jubilee puzzled relief. "Deanna is fine. There aren't any broken appendages, internal damage to any of her vital organs or even so much as a bruise on her body."

"Thank God." Jubilee practically sobbed as she cradled Dena in her arms, her hands double checking Hank's prognosis. "You're right. Do you think she's invulnerable?"

"No, when she was born she showed no signs of it, but there is a simple test." Hank produced a pin and quickly pricked Dena's finger. 

"Ow!" Dena's eyes popped open as she glared at Hank and sucked her finger where a bead of blood was oozing out. 

Hank bowed deeply and produced a pink neon band-aid and a lollipop. "My sincerest apologies mademoiselle. We were trying to figure out if you had become in…hey!" Hank glared at Jubilee who had quickly stomped on his bare foot.

*The last thing my daughter needs to get in head is the idea of invulnerability or even the possibility of it. Thanks to 'Ro I have a daughter now obsessed with flying, do you really want to be responsible for something else?*

Jubilee smiled widely at her daughter who was looking back and forth between them suspiciously. "He was doing doctor stuff. How about we go into town for some ice-cream?"

"Daddy too?"

"We can bring some back for Daddy if you want. You remember what his favorite flavor is?"

Dena scrunched up her face in an imitation of her father. "Choc'late and only choc'late." 

"Brilliantly said sweetie." 

*Bribery?* Jubilee got a mental image of Penance shaking her head. *Tsk, tsk tsk.*

"So do you want to come or not?"

Penance pretended to toss her hair over her shoulder. *Penance is above bribery.*

"Fine then."

Jubilee started to walk out the door when she felt a small prod. *Bring me back the green nut kind.*

Laughing Jubilee and Dena walked outside to the convertible, Rogue's convertible to be precise, that was sitting in the driveway. Just sitting there. Both Jubilee and Logan had their own motorcycle, and had purchased a SUV for Dena's carseat. Glancing furtively around Jubilee quickly (as quickly as unloading and resetting up a carseat can be…so let's say half an hour) set Dena's carseat in the backseat of the convertible and drove off down the road with a quick mental call to Rogue who was conveniently in the shower.

-in-

Alias cursed as Jubilee and Dena drive off via the mansion's security cameras that had been hacked into. 

"Fine, you want play it rough we'll play it rough." Taking one last look at the convertible and it's license plate number, fresh clothes were quickly pulled on and put a hat on the face was obscured. Running out the room, Alias squealed out of the lot and into the road towards the only ice-cream parlor in town. Each time the little girl escaped death, the next time would only bring more people down with her.

-in-

Sighing contentedly Dena sucked on her thumb that was conveniently still covered with strawberry mess. She was full, happy and in her lap was a container of chocolate ice-cream for her Daddy. Dena squirmed a little as the coldness began to come through her lightweight pants, and she lifted the container up to shift it when it slipped out of her hands and onto the road as the car hit a slight bump. The next events happened so rapidly that it was blur. As Jubilee glanced back to see what Dena's cry of dismay was about, the ice-cream splattered on the road hitting the rear left tire causing the car to spin out of control as the tire lost its grip. At the same time a car raced past a red light and headed straight for Dena's side of the car, but since it was spinning it hit Jubilee's side of the car, slamming both cars to a dead stop. From Dena's position strapped securely in the back, she could make out a tall, black haired woman climbing out of the car and running away. Anything else was lost in the confusion in the pain of realizing that her mother's constant psi-connection had been brutally severed, and that her mother was screaming in pain.

-in-

A/N: the Muses are back but I should have the next part up by this weekend. Have a great week!


	3. Roll of the Dice

Disclaimer: If I owned them, do you really think Jubilee would be stuck in comic book limbo? Good. :P  
  
A/N: Everybody gets to guess who Dena grows up to be...come on...you all know who it is...mysterious past....anyway, whoever guesses it right will get a gold star! :) And for those curious..this is far from the end! And for those curious...the computer speech is surrounded by ** and isn't telepathy...Forge is good, but not that good!  
  
Graduation:  
  
3  
  
  
  
Hank brushed Jubilee's hair back softly, his expert hand gently probing the bruised and swollen flesh around her eyes. She had been floating in and out of consciousness for the past two days, her injuries forcing her awake from the pain every few hours or so.   
  
"How is she?"  
  
"She sustained the brunt of the impact, that if Dena had suffered she would not have survived. Jubilee's left leg is broken in two places, there a few cracked ribs, a broken arm, severe bruising and contusions along with the concussion she had." Hank patted Logan's shoulder. "We both have seen her in worse, I have no doubt that she'll pull through brilliantly."  
  
Logan frowned, the sight of his wife battered and broken leaving him trembling with anger. "And will she be able to walk?"  
  
"Yes, our abilities now are extremely sophisticated. Your wife will be fine." Hank studied the angry man for a moment before laying a large hand on his shoulder. "Old friend, be there for your daughter and let us worry about what happened. Dena needs you right now."  
  
The muscles in his back relaxed as Logan heaved a sigh. "We just never get a break do we?"  
  
-in-  
  
Jubilee sat up carefully, dulling the pain in her head and body so that she could swing her legs over the side of the bed. Looking around the room, someone had conveniently left a wheelchair beside the bed from when they took her to get a CAT scan that morning, and without further thought, she pulled out the IV and other tubes connecting her body to the machines beside the bed. Hurling a paff at the machines that were incessantly beeping in alarm, Jubilee managed to half slide, half drop into the chair.  
  
Pausing a few minutes to adjust her skimpy green nightgown into something slightly presentable, she made sure that she was alone in the Med Lab before starting the long and arduous process of wheeling herself down the hall to the Danger Room. Ever since the car had been hit something had bothered Jubilee, nagging at the back of her mind until she couldn't rest. Using her good arm and leg to propel her forward, she reached the Danger Room several minutes later and entered the empty room.  
  
"Computer restrict access to everyone." Jubilee pursed her lips as she thought back to that day. "Recreate simulation of when Dena was on the swing." The bouncing child appeared in midair, swinging wildly from the bungee cords. The instant the cords broke Jubilee froze the program. "Enhance by 100, explain the cords breaking."  
  
The scene zoomed forward and Jubilee could see that the cords had broken cleanly, and hadn't frayed.  
  
**The bungee cords were programmed to break as specified by user.**  
  
"Who?"  
  
**Unknown, new user.**  
  
"Where was the request accessed from?"  
  
**Unknown.**  
  
Frustrated Jubilee muttered a few swear words while she wheeled herself around to look at it from another angle. "Can you at least tell if it came from inside the mansion?"  
  
**The request was logged in off site.**  
  
Jubilee bit her lip thoughtfully and twirled a strand of hair as she thought back to the accident. "Computer, can you recreate what happened at my accident?"  
  
The voice paused, the machine clicking away softly before answering. **Affirmative. There were security cameras at the place where the incident occurred.**  
  
"Replay." The young woman watched with morbid curiosity as she saw the scene unfold, and the bizarre twist as the car lost control and spun so that the side hit was Jubilee's and not Dena's who was on the right side of the car. "Replay but without the car spinning."  
  
Without the spin, the other car slammed into the child's side of the vehicle with a frightening certainty. "Damn." she whispered.  
  
-in-  
  
Wolverine was a patient man. A very patient man. The fact that Sabertooth was still alive could attest to that fact. It was also why his wife hadn't driven him insane yet. He was close, but hadn't reached it yet. Logan looked at Jubilee with a wry grin, oh yeah, she was well on her way to driving him insane.  
  
The fact that she had managed to get out of bed just two days after breaking an arm and a leg, and still remain conscious didn't surprise him. What surprised him was that she had called a meeting with Charles, Emma, Sean, Penny, and Hank and was directing it all from her wheelchair and with no painkillers.   
  
Jubilee dimmed the lights and hit the mouse. "After I reviewed our accident, I checked out what happened in the Danger Room and got worried. Firstly, the accidents, both of them were no accident. In both instances someone was trying to kill Dena. Lucky for her and us that the assailant wasn't able to succeed. But after I found that out I also did some searching and reviewed Dena's history of accidents, most of which we've all had some experience with." Jubilee smiled at the grinning faces around the table.   
  
"In her four years she's managed to escape bodily harm or possible death by barely scraping by. Any and all times that's she's come close to being hurt, something happens to prevent her from coming to harm." As the list after list came up on the screen of Dena's misadventures, comprehension dawned on the faces of the people in the room. "Exactly. I ran the stats through the computer and it popped out with a huge number that the odds of Dena being that lucky by luck is...I think it was something like a billion to one or something."   
  
Hank grinned. "And your hypothesis is that our little miscreant of adventure is actually a mutant with the ability of luck."  
  
"Bingo. Well, sort of I don't think its luck so much as her being able to have things fall into place for her. The car accident is a good example. The ice cream flew of her hand, fell on the road, the tire slipped on it and we spun, thus sending her out of mortal danger. If I had filed that in an insurance agency nobody would have believed me...." Jubilee winced as she suddenly realized that she had yet to tell Rogue about the car. "But that issue is only secondary, first things first I want to find out who and why that person wants my baby dead."  
  
"I gotta admit, that's kinda peaked my curiosity as well." Logan cracked his knuckles as he glanced at his wife. *Ya sure about this Darlin?*  
  
Jubilee's blue eyes were piercing as she stared back at him. *I've spent years caring for Deanna, I know when something's wrong.*  
  
Satisfied, Wolverine looked over at Charles. "You have any ideas?"  
  
"I have to admit, I'm puzzled that Deanna would be singled out for such attacks. As far as we know there have only been two right?"  
  
Penny cocked her head at him. *How many do you need for proof Professor?*  
  
Emma meanwhile, had excused herself and had just returned holding a leather book in her hand. "I think..." she paused, waiting for the room to fall silent. "I think I might have an answer for you Jubilee."  
  
-in-  
  
Jubilee threw down the book exasperated. "No! NO! I refuse to believe this! This is insane."  
  
Emma's face was expressionless as she watched her former pupil. "Destiny's diaries have not been wrong before and we would be stupid to ignore them now."  
  
"NO!! This...this book is ridiculous. This future of war and evil and...and mutants dying because of a civil war is stupid. Julianna is president that isn't going to change."  
  
"It doesn't have to. The diary speaks of a girl, your little girl and my godchild that can stop it. But these attempts on her life prove that someone else has seen this book, and is willing to kill Dena to see that what happens is fulfilled."  
  
Jubilee's voice was full of tears as she saw her child's future being laid out for her. "What? That she dies and then somehow the world falls apart? That mutants become game to be hunted? That we're killed in the streets just for our genetics? My baby is not going to die, now or in the near future."  
  
"Then protect her Jubilee, send her away somewhere safe where no one can touch her and she can grow up to be an adult."  
  
"That's bullshit Emma and you know it. I'll protect my daughter from whatever comes her way."  
  
Emma rose an eyebrow. "Just like you able to protect her earlier this week?" she asked coolly.  
  
"Bitch!" Logan lunged at the woman only to have Hank stop him inches from her neck. "You play around with people's lives like they're your toys. Dena will not be that toy for you. She's our child and we will protect her."  
  
"Then you're the father of dead child. One of these times you won't be there, or won't get there in time, or Dena's mutation...whatever it is will fail. And she will die and thousands of mutants along with her."  
  
Charles held up a hand and sighed. "How long have you had the diary Emma?"  
  
"A decade or so."  
  
"And you chose to tell us now why?"  
  
"I had hoped that the diary would be inaccurate, but the moment I saw Dena I knew. I didn't think the attempts...if there were to be any at all... that it would start so early. I'm so sorry that I didn't let you know before but I wanted you to have a happy time with Dena, unburdened with the future for as much time as possible." The former white queen sat down, tired in her seat, her face lined with age as she shook her head. "Who would want to kill a four year old?"  
  
"A four year old with the ability to destroy some person's long laid plans. Someone who appears to be very determined. Jubilee, Logan, for the sake of your child I suggest we come up with a plan of action."  
  
"Indeed, until we can get better security measures in place, we'll need to be vigilant in our combined efforts to protect our young companion." Hank tapped the table thoughtfully, chewing on his glasses unconsciously as he pondered the problem.  
  
Penny moved over to Jubilee and cradled the woman's head in her arms. *Penny has an idea.*  
  
-in-  
  
A day later...  
  
In a deserted cabin on the edge of the mansion's property two people sat silently as Logan cradled his child in his arms, telling her a story.  
  
"So the brave prince and the beautiful Chinese princess got married, defeating the evil witch who had wanted them in her castle."  
  
"Did they happily ever after?" Dena mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Oh and how! The prince and princess were so in love that they had a baby, a little girl called Deanna. She was so beautiful that the whole country rejoiced and they spent many years living in peace and happiness."  
  
"S'good."  
  
"But one day they learned that an evil sorceress was after their daughter."  
  
"Was she real bad Daddy?"  
  
"So bad, that she wanted to snatch her away from her parents and lock her up in her castle."  
  
Dena's mouth formed a little "o" as she nestled up against him.  
  
"Her parents loved her so much that they knew they couldn't protect her all by themselves, so they decided to send her away to a place where no one could ever harm her again. A magic kingdom, safe from all of the bad things the sorceress could do."  
  
"All by herself?"  
  
"No of course not, they sent with her the very bestest person they could find, her nanny who would watch and protect her."  
  
"Why not her Mommy and Daddy?"  
  
"To keep the bad sorceress from getting suspicious and looking for the princess, they would pretend that their little girl was still with them, so that the witch would be fooled. Wasn't that smart?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"So the little girl grew up in to a beautiful lady and was able to return to her mother and father where they vanquished the bad lady into a big puddle of mush. The End!"  
  
Logan finished to story with a soft kiss to Dena's cheek and handed her to Jubilee, who smiled at her lovingly. "Hey baby."  
  
"Momma?"  
  
"Just remember that I love you no matter what." Jubilee gently kissed her daughter's eyelids closed. "Now close your eyes for me." With a painful grimace on her face, she put her daughter to sleep, holding the child close against her body. Glancing once at Penance, she looked up at the sky and with tears streaming down her face called out. "Gateway! Gateway! I need you."  
  
A slight pop burst in the air and Gateway appeared, smiling at her sadly as if he knew her request.  
  
"I need you to take my baby someplace safe from harm, where no will hurt her. Will you?"  
  
He nodded, and opened a portal in the middle of the room indicating that he was ready when they were.  
  
Jubilee turned to Penny and handed Deanna's slumbering form to her. "You have everything you need?"  
  
"I have the image inducers, and everything else you gave me. We will be safe, old friend." Penny's voice was rough, new from the procedure that Hank had done that afternoon.  
  
"Then you have my life in your hands Penny. Thank you for this."  
  
Logan took one last whiff of his daughter. "Be well sweetie."  
  
With her hand clutched in Logan's Jubilee performed the one last act of love for her daughter, she methodically blocked off any and all memories of her life before that moment. When the last block was in place she kissed her child's forehead and nodded to Penny. Before anything else was said the woman ducked into the portal with the child, having it close behind her, leaving Logan and Jubilee very much alone in a world that had once seemed bright.  
  
-in-  
  



	4. Little twists of fate

Disclaimer: I own them..yep I really really do! Nah, I'm just playing with them, I promise to put them back where I found them. Satisfied Marvel?

A/N: If you haven't guessed who Dena is now.....I probably haven't left very good clues. This takes place 6 months after Dena leaving.

Text in *telepathic thoughts*

Feedback gives warm fuzzies!

-6 months later-

-Danger Room-

The jungle was sweltering, the heat hanging in the air like a thick fog making the sim even harder as Logan, Scott, Jean, and Jubilee moved through the trees. The game was one that they had played before, a sort of capture the flag free for all where the aim was to take out as many people as possible while still being the last one standing. Kurt, Paige, Sarah and Storm were already out and were watching the remaining four from the control room. 

Sarah picked her teeth with a spare bone as she watched the game. "Five dollars says Wolverine wins."

Grinning Kurt shook her hand. "Fine, count me in. Jean's gonna whup all of their asses."

"I can't believe you're betting on this." Storm sniffed delicately, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Besides Scott won last time, he's going to win again."

Kurt glanced at Paige who was frowning as she watched the game. "You in Paige?"

Waving her hand distractedly, Paige nodded. "Yeah, sure whatever. Five on Jubes."

The other three chuckled at her choice and she looked at them in surprise. "What?"

"It's just that Jubilee has rarely won these games. What makes you think she'll win today?"

Paige pointed to the four left, "Because today she actually wants to win. I think she's angry for some reason."

A huge swatch of forest was incinerated as Jubilee's plasma blast hit it, the power that once came in brightly colored balls and globules, now forming into a sheet of pure power. The occupants in the control room felt the walls under them shake as the explosive mass hit the titanium-lined walls. A few minutes later, Scott and Jean walked into the room, their uniforms charred and torn.

"Yes!" Sarah threw the bone at the floor and peered eagerly at the two left in the Danger Room.

Logan circled Jubilee warily, he had been aware that she was acting differently today and after seeing the way she had taken out Scott and Jean, was feeling slightly uneasy about taking her on. His wife just softly smiled and without changing expression, lashed out with her foot, having it connect painfully with his jaw. Wincing, Logan rolled forward and knocked her into the undergrowth. Getting nothing from their connection, he looked up at the booth and shrugged.

Scott nodded and clicked on the intercom. "And the winner of today's round is Wolverine. Well done. Now go see if Jubilee is all right."

Suddenly, Logan's vision was flooded with blue and he stood stock still as he realized his head was encircled with a bubble of plasma that could go off if he made any sudden moves. 

"It's not over just yet." Jubilee smiled, jumping down from a tree branch, her feet landing gently on the charred earth. Her face was bruised and swollen, blood trickling from her mouth and nose, and she was limping slightly on her left leg that had been broken earlier that year. "One move Darlin, and you're dog food. Do you yield?"

"Yeah." Logan managed to grind out through barely moving lips.

"Scott?"

The fearless X-men leader was practically beaming with pride as he held out a thumbs up. "It's all yours Jubilee."

"Thank you." With a flick of her hand, the plasma re-entered her body. Raising an eyebrow at her husband, Jubilee kissed him lightly. "You all right Logan?"

"Just damn proud of ya that's all." Logan grinned and swept her up in a hug, burying his head in her hair smelling the sweet scent. "When did ya learn that trick?"

"I've just been practicing lately. I decided I needed to take it up a notch. I'm going to stay here and run a few laps, how about I meet you later and we can out to dinner?"

"Sounds good. Seven okay?"

Jubilee nodded and once she was sure the room and booth were empty, let her smile fade. "Computer lock doors, close off access to everyone."

Six months...six long months to the day...that her little girl had been away and it seemed like she was the only one that noticed that Dena was gone. "Computer show Dena."

*Specify please.*

"Show her as if she was here, 4 and half years old."

*Unable to process.* 

Jubilee flung an angry blast at the wall. "Use the medical files to recreate a sim of Deanna, my daughter."

*Unable to process.*

"Shit!" Jubilee's fists clenched at her sides, and she drew a shuddering breath. "Can you at least run battle sim89?"

For the next hour, Jubilee lost herself in the methodical killing and destroying of the enemy, her body ducking under the rough terrain in order to avoid being hit by bullets. When the sim had finally played out, Jubilee was drenched in sweat, her body heaving with the effort to stand when the scene faded and Paige walked in.

"What...the hell..are you doing here..Hayseed?" Jubilee spat angrily.

"Being a best friend. You know, rumor has it that friends are good to talk to, and open up to. What are you trying to do to yourself?"

Breathing hard Jubilee ran a hand through her wet hair agitatedly. "It's been six months since I've seen my baby. You have no idea how much it hurts inside...it aches and the only time I feel anything less is when I sleep. And Logan..." The young woman shrugged dejectedly. "Logan has been perfect, great, I've never seen him more understanding."

"A little too perfect?" Paige had been watching the couple carefully for the past few months and that fact had bothered her as well. The man once known for his sheer anger and temperament had suddenly become...almost docile.

"I just wish he would say something about it, get angry, I don't know him any more."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" 

"Sure and you know what he says? He's processing."

Paige frowned as she turned to look at Jubilee who nodded. 

"Yep, processing. The Wolvie I know doesn't even have the word in his vocabulary let alone a need to do it."

The two women walked out of the room to the showers that were right across from the hall. Due to the insistence of all of the female members of the household, it had been made into a state of the art facility complete with eight showers, three bathtubs, one jacuzzi, a steam room, several lounge chairs, tanning beds, toilets, sinks and a well lighted mirror. (Rumor had it that the men's room contained all of a toilet and a shower with a cockroach colony left over from one of Beast's experiments.) 

Raised up off the floor was a marble jacuzzi, big enough to fit six or seven people. Stripping off her workout uniform, Jubilee wrapped a towel around herself and while sneaking a furtive glance over her shoulder, she dumped a few cupfuls of bubble bath to the jacuzzi. A frothy wave of water splashed over the side onto the floor as she sank into the foaming mess of bubbles and hot water. "Mmmmmm."

Rolling her eyes, Paige joined her. "You realize that Storm flips out every time you do this?"

"Why do you think I do it?"

Paige blew a handful of bubbles at the younger girl. "Can I be blunt?"

"Aren't you always?"

"Fine, aren't you a telepath? Aren't you linked to him anyway?"

"............"

"Jubes?"

"After Dena left he pretty much cut off the connection, and when I asked him he was pretty evasive. I didn't want to pry and it just kept on getting worse and worse. We've been married all of what...four years and in that time I've managed to get myself almost killed twice, and have his only child sent away for her lifetime. How am I doing so far?"

Paige peered at her friend intently, her brow furrowed at the intense guilt she was getting from her. The woman's small frame was taut with tension and if something wasn't done soon she would break. Still looking at the young woman, Paige reached out to her husband who was sitting outside on the porch playing cards with Beast and Storm. *Jono?*

*Yes luv?* 

*I think it's time someone had a talk with Logan.*

Jono's fervent mental no's made Paige smile. *Chicken?*

*'ell yeah.*

*Fine get Remy to do it, of anyone in the house he should have the most in common with Jubes.*

Getting up out of the warm water, Paige held out a towel to Jubilee. "Come on, I'll help you get ready for tonight."

-in-

Life, Remy pondered, was not the simplest. The last thing he had expected to ever do was talk to Logan about his wife, Remy winced, if he made it through the conversation alive he would be grateful to any and all gods that cared to listen. 

"Whaddya want?" The darkening gloom hid Wolverine's hunched figure by the pond.

"I was out for a walk and felt the urge to watch the sunset. Tres jolie non?" Remy nonchalantly leaned against the tree watching the man intently through his glasses.

"Sunset was an hour ago, so what are you doing here?"

"Paige is worried about la petite, and figured that you might know why she's so upset."

Logan shifted slightly to look at the Cajun man. "Jubilee's upset?"

"Oui."

"Why?"

"Her baby is gone, and I think she feels guilty for everything. But you know this already non?"

Wolverine swore and kicked a rock into the water, watching it skip across the surface. "I guess we haven't' been the most open lately. She's just so vulnerable right now, I was afraid that mentioning Dena would make it worse. I wanted to protect her so badly and couldn't even manage to save our daughter."

Remy suppressed a sigh, it didn't look like he was getting a break. "Mebbe petite wants someone to talk about it non? From Remy's experiences the women like this kind of thing."

Wolverine eyed him hopefully. "Ya think?"

"Absolutement, your wife needs you right now."

The moon flickered slightly on the pond as a breeze rippled across, and Logan stood up with a grin whacking Remy across the back. "Thanks Cajun, I owe ya one."

Choking slightly from the force of an adamantium-laced man patting him on the back, Remy shook his head. "C'est rien ami, c'est rein." Watching the ageless man walk off, Remy smiled as he thought about how much the man had changed from  the time he first came to the mansion. Five years earlier Remy would have his throat torn out for the mere suggestion that something was wrong. It was amazing what a hundred pound slip of a girl could do to tame a beast.

-in-

"Ready?" Logan tapped lightly on the bathroom door that his wife had been busy in for the last half-hour. 

"Yep." Pushing the door open, she walked out in a simple black dress and sandals, her hair clipped back by simple butterfly pins and a simple silver chain around her neck. 

"Ya look gorgeous Darlin." Sweeping her up in an engulfing hug, he kissed her shoulder feeling the temperature rise on her cheeks as she put her arms around him.

"So do you." Stepping back, Jubilee grinned in appreciation at Logan's outfit. He was wearing tight black jeans and a snug shirt with a string tie and some new boots. "What's the occasion?" 

"Nothing, just wanted to look special fer my gal, that's all." 

Jubilee smiled sadly as a pain flickered across her face for an instant. Deliberately shrugging it off, she forced a grin and took his arm. "Let's go out and have some fun tonight."

-in-

Later that night the two sat over an isolated table in an Italian restaurant in the far side of town, talking over little non-important things. The restaurant was a hole in the wall that they had discovered right after they had gotten married, a perfect little place that served the best lasagna in the city. The two owners had taken an instant liking to the two, and always saved them a special table overlooking the river lights. 

Peter, one of the owners, smiled at the two of the them as he poured a red wine for Jubilee and popped open a beer for Logan. "Will you both be having the usual tonight?"

The couple nodded, barely glancing at the older man as they looked into each other's eyes, the look so intense that Peter could only watch them for a moment. Setting down the crusty bread and tomato spread, he returned to the island where his lover was arranging some flowers that would be put at each of the tables. 

"How are they tonight?" Alex asked as he sniffed one of the daisies. 

"I don't know, caro. They look like they are finding each other for the first time." 

Logan brushed Jubilee's cheek with his hand, peering into her eyes. "Tell me what's wrong, how can I make it better."

Jubilee grasped his hand, stilling it from the soothing motion and brought it up to where a tear was beginning to fall. His rough fingers brushed the tear away and she lightly tasted the salty liquid with her tongue. "This, I want to know if you feel this." *And this* Jubilee gently re-established the connection and let him feel her hurt, her anger, her pain that she had felt ever since her daughter had left. *Do you feel this at all?*

"Oh I feel it Darlin, I feel it." Logan whispered, shook by the intensity of her pain. "I'm sorry that I didn't share it with ya, I was afraid of making it hurt worse for ya."

She smiled, the first genuine smile she could remember in months. "It hurts when you don't Logan." Their fingers intertwined as they kissed softly, once more in harmony with each other. *I missed this.*

*Me too. I love you Jubilation Lee Wise.*

*I love you too Logan Wise.*

The soft strains of a violin began to croon an alluring tune reminiscent of medieval England. Alex winked at Peter as he coaxed the melody from the strings, the song a favorite of theirs and one that they had played at their own commitment ceremony. Logan held out his hand and led Jubilee to the middle of the floor where she let him hold her as they swayed to the music. Jubilee buried her head into his shoulder, breathing in the stark scent of cigars, sweat and something that was just pure Logan. 

Soon after they had finished their desert, Peter came up to Logan holding out a red box with a large gold ribbon on it. "Monsieur, the package you requested."

"Thanks." Taking the heavy looking box from the old man, Logan held it out to Jubilee with a grin. "Got ya a surprise Darlin."

Grinning, Jubilee lifted the lid to reveal an exuberantly happy puppy that couldn't have been more than a month old. It was a fluffy Husky dog, more of a puffball than anything else and had scampered across the table to lick Jubilee's face lovingly. Her hands went automatically around the dog, cradling it as it continued to nuzzle her face. "You got me a puppy? I…I…" she trailed off, speechless and went over to where her husband was sitting, trying to figure out if he had done the right thing or not. "I love it."

As they walked back to the mansion early that morning, Paige and Jono watched in satisfaction from one of the upper story windows. Jubilee and Logan were hand in hand, laughing with each other as every once in awhile Jubilee would pull Logan down for a kiss. In Jubilee's purse was the sleeping puppy that whimpered occasionally chasing rabbits in its dreams. Paige smiled as the two walked into the mansion and she leaned against Jono as he stroked her hair. "I think those two are going to be okay."

-in-

A week or so later

It was the middle of summer and the day had been unusually warm for the season, heading up into the hundreds causing most of the household to scatter to the cooler spots around the grounds. Logan and Scott were tinkering around with their bikes in the garage, drinking beers and for once getting along. Jean and the older X-women had gone shopping in the air-conditioned haven of the mall, and Paige and Jubilee had opted to sunbathe next to the lake, taking the puppy with them. The rest of the team was draped over the air conditioner in the house or in the pool in the back. 

"this is nice." Paige murmured as she sipped a lemonade, the outside of the glass still frosted over from the freezer.

"Very nice."

"How are you and Wolverine getting along?"

A slight blush that had nothing to do with a sunburn crept up Jubilee's cheeks. "Very well. You and Jono?"

"Good."

The puppy panted as it flopped on Jubilee's stomach, curiously licking her stomach as it smelt the coconut based tanning lotion. "Poor baby, you're all hot aren't you? Why don't you go find Daddy? I bet it's cooler in the garage than out here."

Jubilee gave the dog a mental image of Logan and it scampered off across the lawn. Paige giggled and Jubilee looked at her curiously. "Does Logan know that he's Daddy to the puppy?"

She grinned. "I haven't brought it up yet, I think the fact that I decided to call the puppy Caro was enough of a blow to his manhood." 

"I think "Beloved" is a great name for a dog. Especially for one that your husband gave you."

"Wolvie was hoping for something a little more king of the woods like Renegade or Wolfbane."

"Romulus?"

"Ringo?"

Both women snorted, giggling as they thought of the cute ball of fluff being named Rin Tin Tin. Suddenly a shadow fell over both of the women, causing them to glance up at the woman standing over them. The woman was about 5'8 and was pale with a black patch over her left eye.

Paige got up and held out her hand. "Hi, you must be Domino. The professor told me that you would be coming out here soon. And this is…" Paige turned to Jubilee who had stood, her eyes transfixed on the woman as her face drained of color. Domino stood motionless as she looked at Jubilee, both locked in each other's eyes and Paige stepped back, unsure of what to do. 

Finally Jubilee reached out and touched the younger woman's face whispering, "Deanna?"

-fin-


	5. Ties of Blood

Disclaimer: Marvel characters belong to Marvel. Duh. If they were mine they would be treated better. 'Nuff said.  
  
A/N: Since it's been so long a slight review might help...Wolvie and Jubes are married, they had a kid called Deanna, unfortunately a baddie called Alias was determined to kill the child thinking that she was the key to whether or not a plan failed or succeeded. In order to protect their baby, Logan and Jubes place her under Penance's protection and send her off with Gateway. Six months have passed and now Jubilee thinks that Deanna is back....as Domino.  
  
PS Sadly I know nothing about how the government works or how a bill is passed...ahem.....I could give you the criteria involved in classifying a major psychological disorder though. Sheesh! I'm a Psych major not a Poli Sci major.   
  
This is dedicated to Sarah who very dramatically kicked me in the ass and asked "Where the hell is the next chapter???" *grins* thanks!  
  
Ties of Blood   
  
-in-  
-Three days ago-  
  
"Are we ready?" The woman with pale brown eyes tapped her foot impatiently.  
  
"Yes, a message was sent to the X-men."  
  
"Their response?"  
  
"The time limit hasn't been reached. We gave them a week to decide."  
  
"It won't matter, a week or a day won't make a difference. We've been planning this for over two years. Soon we'll have our world back from the filth that infects it now."  
  
The men left the woman, who watched them go in disgust. She had succeeded in killing the child, a small stone tombstone marked her triumph. Allowing herself the privilege of relaxing for a moment, she shook out her long black hair and savored the quiet. The whole business with the X-men was just a mere distraction to keep them busy until the day she chose to move. Pulling out a small photograph, she regarded the small face enclosed in the small rectangle of paper. Bitter lines teased at her mouth as her lips thinned, anger as she thought of the day her child died because of them.   
  
-in-  
  
A ratchet clattered to the floor as the puppy bounded onto Logan's stomach, spilling beer and motor oil in his hurry to get to the burly man. "Damn. Bad dog, bad bad bad dog." Logan growled as he wiped off the goo that was smeared over his arm and face.  
  
"It's just a puppy, Logan." Scott chuckled, picking up the squirming mass of fur and putting him on the leather seat of the bike which it promptly peed on. "Crap!" Swearing under his breath, Scott tossed the puppy to Logan while he rapidly wiped up the liquid before it could spread to the *gasp* tires.  
  
"Exactly." In the excitement, Logan had a streak of dirt trailing down his chin that the puppy was trying to lick off.   
  
"I did suggest a hamster..."Scott trailed off at the look on Logan's face.  
  
*Logan!* The message had Logan running out the door towards the lake where his wife was standing with Paige and another woman. Jubilee's face was a stark white, her blue eyes huge and her hands were shaking. Uncertain of what was going on, Paige was looking on in a mixture of horror and shock and as Logan reached the group she looked up at him speechless.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
Before anyone could speak Domino stumbled back, bumping into Logan and then ran towards the house, sprinting across the lawn ignoring Scott calling after her. A kind of choking yearning sound escaped from Jubilee and seconds later she was dashing after the younger woman. Shaking his head in confusion Logan caught Paige's arm before she could follow her best friend.   
  
"What's going on?"  
  
Paige's eyes were wet, "Jubes thinks that Domino is Deanna. I thought she was okay, that she was better..."  
  
"I'd know my own daughter's scent..." Logan sniffed catching the trailing scents, tagging the familiar one of his wife and noting the new one of Domino. "I've never smelt her before..." Logan frowned as he caught a single scent at the very essence of Domino, it was close but nothing like what he knew of his lost four year old child.  
  
Inside the mansion, the professor had been using some well-earned free time to pursue a hobby that he rarely ever got to do when Domino burst into his office looking livid. "Why the hell did you ask me here?" she spat at him.  
  
Charles carefully put away his pruning shears and set the bonsai tree aside. "You know something about the woman known as Alias, the person who has been targeting the X-men. I was hoping you could provide some information to help us. Is something wrong?"  
  
"I was outside and this woman....she called me Deanna."  
  
The older man sighed sadly. "That would have been Jubilee, she recently lost her daughter and has been under a rather fragile mental state. I apologize if she upset you but I'm afraid she will be a bit more shaken."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. It's just that she called me by a name that only one person in my life ever used. It was a little unnerving"  
  
"Really?" Charles looked up in interest, his line of questioning failed as Jubilee burst into the room, an almost manic look on her face, followed by Logan and then Paige.   
  
"Logan! There she is, there's Deanna. My little Dena. My baby is back. She's back." Jubilee turned to her husband with a beatific smile on her face. "She's grown up to be such a beautiful woman."  
  
Domino's eyes flashed with pity. "I'm so sorry but my parent's died when I was born. They were killed in a car crash when I was just a baby. A relative raised me. I'm so sorry, there's no way I could be your child."  
  
Logan's arms resting reassuringly around Jubilee, warming her to the point where her trembles had subsided. He whispered in her ear. "Darlin, don't you think that I'd be able to recognize my own daughter? She ain't it."  
  
"No!" Jubilee twisted out of his arms and gestured at Domino who stepped back. "You wouldn't recognize it after all these years and she wouldn't remember because I put the mental block on before she was sent away. Dena and I were...are...connected by a psi-link. I know this is Deanna."  
  
*Don't you remember?* Jubilee pleaded. Gently and delicately, she broke through the barrier of her shields. *Remember meditating with me in the morning? Wanting a kitten called Ace? Your favorite green dress?*  
  
Words strangled in Domino's throat as she became overwhelmed by memories. Her childhood had been far from difficult but when she had turned into a teenager, she had always hated that empty chunk of time that had kept the image of her mother away. Dark blue eyes that mirrored her own, stared back at Domino and she clutched her stomach, breathless as she finally saw the woman standing in front of her as her mother. With a choked cry she stumbled into Jubilee's arms, both holding each other as if they were afraid to let go.   
  
-in-  
  
The busy hum of computers started the mornings at the offices of Julianna Pearson a.k.a. the White House accompanied the president on her morning stroll around the grounds. It was one of the few freedoms she insisted on retaining after she came to the office. As she entered her private quarters, she turned to Remy with a grin of relief. "Another day finally done with."  
  
Remy tossed off his duster onto one of the heirloom pieces by the door. "Oui, but it won't be much longer non?"  
  
"Four days." Julianna kicked off her shoes and sank into the couch, nursing a mineral water. "Four days and everything we've worked for will come into fruition." She took a sip of the chilled water. "I wish Jae was here, I miss her."  
  
"Do you think the bill will be passed?"  
  
Julianna stretched, rubbing the aches out of her neck. "I think so. I have the support of most of the senators. Now if I can live long enough to see it through."  
  
Remy moved behind Julianna and massaged her neck, his hands moving smoothly and surely as he worked the knots out. "You'll live, we can sleep after this is all over." His hands caressed the side of her neck, brushing her cheek softly and she turned her face to him letting him kiss her.   
  
Both had no illusions about an eternal love, but in a very lonely world they found comfort in each other's touch.  
  
-in-  
  
Word had spread across the mansion like wildfire with the help of two telepaths, Bobby a.k.a. Gossip Boy and the fact that Jubilee was broadcasting it to the entire team. The two women had retreated to the eastern wing of the house that Jubilee and Logan occupied and had spent hours catching up.   
  
Logan had sat and watched from a distance, frowning as Jubilee played with Domino's hair as the two talked about their lives. The former was currently eagerly listening to the latter's first kiss which involved much blushing on both parts.  
  
"What's wrong Logan?" Xavier's hoverchair slid to a stop silently beside the man.  
  
A growl rumbled in his throat. "Something ain't right. Even if Dena had changed over the years, the very essence of her scent wouldn't change. This Domino ain't got nothing like Dena's. It's similar but not the same."  
  
"Jubilee seems to think that she is."  
  
"Jubilee has been upset about Dena for six months now. I think she's seein something where there isn't."  
  
Xavier laid a hand on Logan's arm. "And her memories?"  
  
Logan shrugged. "Yer a telepath, what do you think happened?"  
  
There was a soft footfall behind them and neither turned as Jean joined them. "Does it really matter?" Both men looked at her in surprise. "I just mean that if Jubilee thinks that this is her daughter what difference does it really make? They both look like they need each other and this. Why take it from them?" Jean's eyes spoke volumes more than her calm voice did. Beneath the emerald green fires there told a story of a long lost daughter that she had lost all hope of ever seeing again.  
  
Neither man replied and continued to watch the two women, both suppressing the thoughts that they were both thinking.  
  
-in-  
  
That night the X-men assembled around the large conference table in the communications room. Old and new team mates sat next to each other, called together for times of crisis, and all of the faces were worried as they looked at the Professor and Jubilee who were standing.  
  
For the first time in a long time, his face looked young, unburdened by the responsibilities of his life...he looked like he had hope. As for the woman next to him, her face also contained the same kind of joy, the dark sadness that had plagued her for months disappeared.  
  
Xavier moved slightly so that they could see the screen behind him. "As you all know President Pearson is a well known advocate for the mutant movement. However, we have received word that she is planning to propose a bill in the Senate in three days that will give mutants equal standing and rights with the rest of the world. We are the only people she has told about it, but we must be at the top of our game for the next few days. I will be splitting you up to cover various parts of the world."  
  
Jubilee tied back her hair deftly, her face determined as she looked over her friends. "Remy is taking personal watch over the President and I will be joining him as soon as the meeting is over. Hank and Paige will remain at the mansion in case of casualties, Cecelia and Kurt will be on the field covering us there. The rest of you will be divided into three teams that will cover The White House, The Parliament, and any other thing that might and most likely will pop up." Jubilee held up a tiny gray earpiece the size of a jellybean. "Thanks to Forge, we have these to help us keep in contact anywhere on Earth."  
  
"The teams will be divided up as follows, Team A; Scott, Storm, Jonothon, and Marrow. Team B: Jean, Bobby, Angelo and Sean. Team C: Emma, Monet, Wolverine and Sam will join you as soon as he flies in. Let's go suit up."  
  
"Team B rules!" Bobby grinned, thrusting his fist in the air, to the laughter of the rest of the room.  
  
*You know what that stands for don't you?* Jonothon said as they were leaving the room. *Team Butthea...*  
  
The room was oddly silent after they filed out, leaving Jubilee, Xavier, Logan and Domino in the room alone. Logan wrapped his arms around his wife, pleased that she gave a sigh of contentment as she kissed him. "Be careful Darlin'." Jubilee merely nodded and gave him one more kiss before he left the room.   
  
Xavier regarded the two women beside him and he could almost see the shift in Jubilee's personality as began to think of herself as Jae again. Domino was wearing her black leather catsuit and the two women could pass for sisters as they stood side by side. He sighed and pulled up another file. "I didn't want to worry the rest of the team but the woman known as Alias has threatened our group with exposure if we don't meet her demands."  
  
"Which are?" Domino asked softly.  
  
"Various amounts of money and technological equipment. To be honest she was fairly vague about the whole thing. From what I could pick up, it was mainly for a distraction."  
  
Domino nodded. "That sounds about right. From what I know about the woman, she is determined to kill Julianna Pearson in an effort to get rid of mutants. She has gathered quite a following and rumor has it that she is planning to do something the day of the Presidents proposal to the Senate. I will be monitoring her during the whole thing."  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Jubilee paused, worry marring her fine features. "Be careful Deanna, once was bad enough." Unwilling to let her emotions get ahead of her, Jubilee quickly walked out.  
  
the two adults sat in the room for a moment, when Xavier patted Domino's arm comfortingly. "don't worry, she's much stronger than she looks."  
  
"I know." Xavier carefully wheeled out of the room leaving the woman to sit and contemplate all that had happened in the past day. In less than twenty-four hours she had regained her past and her family. Her memory was still fuzzy, dim from years of not being able to remember, but at the very core of her being she knew that Jubilee was a part of her.  
  
-fin-  
  
A/N: It'll just get better as more of Domino's past gets revealed. See ya in the next chapter! 


End file.
